If you have questions or would like additional information, contact the Scout Service Center at (607) 796-0699 or (800) 724-6099.

INTERNET ADVANCEMENT - OVERVIEW

What does this mean for your unit?

- You will know easily if there is a mistake in the registration of Scouts in your unit the youth who aren’t registered won’t be on the list.- You will be able to fix any past mistakes or omissions in Council Advancement records for your Scouts as their records are all visible to you.- No rank awards will be able to be purchased at the Scout Shops without the Internet Advancement report generated by the system.- When the Scouts eventually go to an Eagle Board of Review there will be a clear picture of their Scouting History. (There have been many instances at Eagle Boards where youth have been told it looks like they joined Boy Scouts at age 11, and they seem very disappointed as they tell us they were a Cub Scout for five years; but there was no Advancement recorded for them in Cub Scouts so this was not reflected)

Why is this mandatory for recharter incentives?

- Advancement is an integral part of the success of your unit, your District, and our Council. This system reflects the success of your Scout as they advance in Scouting.- A complete record of your youth’s Scouting career will be documented all the way from Bobcat through Eagle Scout rank.- Your Scouts will have correct records in the Council system, as your Advancement Person will be managing your own unit’s records.

How should units handle this requirement?

- Each unit should have one person who handles Internet Advancement. Cub Scout Packs should have a person designated as the Advancement Chair/Person to handle Internet Advancement. All Den Leaders should report their Advancements to the Advancement Person/Chair.- Troops should have an Advancement Person/Chair, or the Committee Chair in smaller troops could handle Internet Advancement.

How do we know what to do?

- There will be a training breakout at the University of Scouting- There are also step-by-step instruction sheets available at the Scout Shops, and on this page starting with "What is required?" below.

What is required?

Internet Advancement will require that the user have access to a computer with a browser that is IE 7.0 or greater.

To enter advancements:

1. The unit eligible for Internet Advancement designates an adult member as the unit advancement person.

2. The unit advancement person gathers all the information needed for recording advancements.

3. With the advancement information at hand, the unit advancement person navigates to Internet Advancement. You can also access this through MyScouting.org if you are logged in and an eligible user.

- Click on Resources, Unit Resources, Internet Advancement at the bottom- Then click on Begin Using Internet Advancement- Sign in as First Time User or Returning User; whichever is appropriate

4. In Internet Advancement, the unit advancement person registers/logs in to Internet Advancement and follows the intuitive process. In Internet Advancement, the unit advancement processor will do the following:

Stage 1: Load Roster Load the unit information from the council or upload an advancement file.

Stage 2: Update Member Select the members you wish to update and insert new advancement information.

The National system requires Internet Explorer. You should be able to have one person in your unit with access to Internet Explorer. If problems are encountered, a computer will be available for your use at each Service Center.

There are many ways the system makes it easy to do this reporting. These will be discussed at training. Periodic training can be available through your district executive.

Your unit’s use of Internet Advancement will contribute significantly to tracking your unit’s advancement against your goals, and help your district and our Council provide programs that support these goals.